Microsoft Teams Essentials alternatives: 3 open-source picks
Microsoft Teams Essentials costs $4/mo — $48 a year. These 3 alternatives replace it for $0, led by Nextcloud Hub, Jitsi Meet and LiveKit. All 3 are open source. License, stars and last commit checked by hand on 2026-08-29. No trials, no crippled tiers.
Team files, documents, chat and calls under one roof; you also own the roof.
Video conferencing with no accounts and no time limits. Embed it, brand it, or just use meet.jit.si.
licenseApache-2.0
runsyour server
setupnot verified by us yet — check the repo README
facts verified 2026-08-29
Realtime audio/video/data infrastructure over WebRTC for calls, rooms, and AI voice agents.
licenseApache-2.0
runsyour server
setupnot verified by us yet — check the repo README
facts verified 2026-08-29
What each one is, in full: Nextcloud Hub · Jitsi Meet · LiveKit
last updated 2026-08-29 · no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
the usual suspects · recommended everywhere, rejected here
Mattermost EntryThe free edition now forgets after 10,000 messages and hangs up calls at 40 minutes.
how to choose a Microsoft Teams Essentials alternative
Most proven
Nextcloud Hub, with 36,300 GitHub stars — the largest community of the 3, which usually means more answers when something breaks.
Works on your phone
Nextcloud Hub has a mobile app on iOS and Android.
Needs real ops to self-host
Nextcloud Hub is capable but expects someone to run a server, updates and backups. Budget for that before choosing it.
what you give up by leaving Microsoft Teams Essentials
- Microsoft identity, global media, calendars, files, telephony, admin, and support
- global low-latency media network
- dial-in and telephony
- large webinars
- transcription, support, and compliance
None of the picks above covers all of it. The full verdict says which gaps matter.
Microsoft Teams Essentials alternatives at a glance
| tool | license | running it | platforms | stars | active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nextcloud Hub | open source | self-host, real ops | web, macos, windows, linux, ios, android, self-hosted | 36,300 | 2026-08 |
| Jitsi Meet | Apache-2.0 | docker to self-host | self-hosted, web | 25,000 | 2026-08 |
| LiveKit | Apache-2.0 | docker to self-host | self-hosted, web | 13,000 | 2026-08 |
why people still pay for Microsoft Teams Essentials
People still pay for Microsoft Teams Essentials because video products survive because real-time media quality and global reliability are infrastructure businesses, not weekend interface projects. The recurring cost buys TURN capacity, codecs, browsers, packet loss, scaling, recording, consent, abuse, monitoring, and incident response, not just the visible interface. If none of that applies to you, any pick above saves $48 a year.
questions about switching from Microsoft Teams Essentials
Is there an open-source alternative to Microsoft Teams Essentials?
Yes: Nextcloud Hub, Jitsi Meet, LiveKit. Every tool on this page is open source: no trials, no crippled tiers.
Can open source really replace Microsoft Teams Essentials?
Our verdict is YES. Nextcloud Hub (36k stars), Jitsi Meet (25k stars), LiveKit (13k stars) are mature open-source replacements for Microsoft Teams Essentials — self-host with real ops work and stop paying $4/mo. The full verdict, and what you give up by switching, is at caniopensourceit.online/microsoft-teams-essentials.
What is the most popular open-source Microsoft Teams Essentials alternative?
By GitHub stars, Nextcloud Hub (36,300). Jitsi Meet is next with 25,000.
